Photo Project- 365

I am the photographer in the family. I have graduated from the little point and shoot camera to the big DSLR and my iPhone is always by my side ready to catch a memory. When my oldest daughter was about 3 years old I noticed something....

I was not in any of our family pictures! I imagined my daughter growing up, looking through computer files (because let's face it, I will never print any of these pictures) and wondering, "Where the heck was Mom when all this was happening?"

I decided to take some action. There is a standard photo project where a photographer takes a self-portrait everyday for one year. I put a little twist on this project. On January 2009 I started taking a picture of my daughter and I, together. Every. Single. Day. This project is still going on today. Even after my second daughter was born I continue this project with just my oldest. (My youngest has her own 365 project but it is just of her and it starts the day she was born!)

Of course there are days I miss, but i do what I can. When I was in the hospital having my second baby my husband was creative enough to take a picture of my daughter holding a picture of me, and one of me holding a picture of her.

I know what you are thinking. That seems like a lot of work! Really its not! Seriously it takes no more than 3 minutes of my day. If you have a smart phone and a photo sharing account (I LOVE Flickr!) it is easy peasy! 

• Step 1: Take the picture. I use my iPhone about 95% of the time. I try to take it somewhere we happen to be that day, so later we can see not just us, but places we went. I also try to get creative. Maybe one day do just your hands, or feet. Your shadows are cool too.
• Step 2: Upload the picture to your photo sharing site. I use Flickr and they have an iPhone app where I can upload, label, and categorize my pictures in about 2 minutes.

And that's it!

There are a lot of ways to show off your project too. I have made slideshows with letters to my daughter. I have made photo collages. You can even print them and put them in a book.

I have 3 years worth of photos of my daughter and I and it is amazing to see how much she has grown and the places we have been. And even better, she will always know that her Momma was there, by her side, every day.